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It was the revenge of some Sheikh – Van Gaal unimpressed by Neymar's PSG switch

Louis van Gaal feels Barcelona are the victims of one man's desires after Neymar made his controversial move from LaLiga to Ligue 1.

Published

9 September 2017

Neymar's world-record €222 million move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain "was the revenge of some Sheikh" and shows that football is "rotten", according to Louis van Gaal.

PSG made headlines around the world when they met the Brazil forward's release clause in early August, leaving Barcelona helpless as Neymar headed to Ligue 1.

Former Barca coach Van Gaal believes the club were victims of PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi's quest for "revenge" after the Catalans ended a partnership with Qatar Airways - a deal negotiated by Qatar Sports Investments, the owners of PSG.

And Van Gaal believes the current financial muscle of Europe's biggest clubs is making them more powerful than UEFA and FIFA.

"The whole system is rotten, which is becoming clearer," Van Gaal told AD.

"If you see how the transfer of Neymar came about, it's just the revenge of some Sheikh that was released by Barcelona as a sponsor. It has nothing to do with money, just with that Sheikh [Al-Khelaifi] and his feelings.

"The coach can't do anything about it. Football is not the most pure world.

"I've been working in it for 46 years now. As an individual, I cannot change that world. UEFA and FIFA should do that. But at the moment, the clubs seem to have more power than those two bodies."